BELLS THREE
BELLS
THREE
The common room is filled tonight.
Someone dragged two of the couches together, and there’s a stack of board games on the table. I can hear Emma crying down the hall, which I assume means that Sera is pacing her apartment again.
This feels almost normal, which is a strange realization. I’m settling in here, more than I realized.
I step inside the room, tugging the sleeves of my sweater down over my hands. A few people glance up, but most pay me no notice.
Evelyn is sitting cross-legged on one of the couches with a mug of tea. Two giant shifters are standing behind her. Alpha Knox doesn’t trust her around us unsupervised, which is absurd. Nobody has plans to harm her.
Nobody here is stupid enough to try.
She raises a brow as I approach.
“Evelyn,” I say.
“Yes?”
“Is…” I fight back a groan. “Do you know if Adam is coming over today?”
Maybe he changed his mind.
I’ve been popping into the common room hourly, but he’s yet to visit. The thought of him choosing not to come hurts more than I’d care to admit.
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. Sera helped me style it this morning.
Evelyn tilts her chin toward the hallway behind me. I turn, my heart pounding as Adam walks into the room. He’s here.
He’s actually come.
He slows slightly when our eyes meet, and something warm settles low in my chest. I can do this. I cross the room and sit at one of the empty tables, my feet tapping as he lowers himself into the chair opposite me.
He doesn’t say anything, but he reaches for my hands.
I let him.
“My hands are sweaty,” I blurt out. “Sorry.”
Adam smiles. “I don’t mind.” He drags his thumb over the back of my marking. “Is this okay?”
“Yes.”
His smile softens. “So,” he starts. He looks around the room, then refocuses on me. “Tell me about yourself. What’s your favorite color? Where did you go to school? What’s your favorite season? What do you like to eat? I want to know every detail.”
Every detail.
My lips tremble. Nobody has ever wanted to know everything about me. Most people only ever wanted pieces—the useful parts. The doctor. The scientist. The woman who could keep her emotions neatly tucked away.
Adam wants everything.
I glance at our joined hands, his thumb still tracing slow circles over the back of my mark. I’m tired of fighting this.
I bob my head. Okay.
I can do this. I squeeze his hand, then scoot my chair closer to his. I’m going to do this.
No more climbing out of windows.